On Monday, Hamas's armed wing released video said to show a sniper targeting IDF soldiers operating in Gaza.

In the video released by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which cannot be independently verified by Reuters, a masked militant is seen loading a long rifle. The video also shows a compilation of moments in which gunshots are heard and what appears to be soldiers being shot in the distance.

In information released with the video, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam wrote that they had built the rifle and that it had a range of 2 kilometers (1.25 miles).

Israel is winding down its offensive in the absence of a mediated disengagement deal with Hamas. It says the army is close to completing the main objective of the ground assault - destruction of cross-border infiltration tunnels from Gaza - and is prepared to respond to Palestinian attacks.

The IDF chief military spokesman said forces were deployed along both sides of the Gaza border.

Israel launched its offensive on July 8 following a surge in Hamas rocket salvoes. It escalated from air and naval barrages to overland incursions centered on Gaza's tunnel-riddled eastern frontier but also pushing into densely populated towns.

Gaza officials say 1,797 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed and more than a quarter of the enclave's 1.8 million residents displaced.